用英文概括文章大意~
In 1993,I had my first opportunity to visit Russia as a representative of the University of California.I was there to provide some technical assistance in the area of agricultural labor management.“Russians are a very polite people,” I had been tutored before my arrival.One of my interpreters,once I was there,explained that a gentleman should pour the limonad (a type of juice) for the ladies and show other courtesies to them.
Toward the end of my three-week trip I was invited by my young Russian host and friend Dmitri Ivanovich and his lovely wife Yielena out to dinner.At the end of a wonderful meal Yielena asked if I would like a banana.I politely declined and thanked her,and explained I was most satisfied with the meal.But the whole while my mind was racing:“What do I do?Do I offer her a banana even though they are as close to her as they are to me?What is the polite thing to do?”
“Would you like a banana?” I asked Yielena.
“Yes,” she smiled,but made no attempt to take any of the three bananas in the fruit basket.“What now?” I thought.
“Which one would you like?” I fumbled.
“That one,” she pointed at one of the bananas.So all the while thinking about Russian politeness I picked the banana Yielena had pointed at and peeled it half way and handed it to her.Smiles in Yielena and Dmitri’s faces told me I had done the right thing.After this experience I spent much time letting the world know that in Russia,the polite thing is to peel the bananas for the ladies.Sometime during my third trip I was politely disabused of my notion.
“Oh no,Grigorii Davidovich,” a Russian graciously corrected me.“In Russia,when a man peels a banana for a lady it means he has a romantic interest in her.” How embarrassed I felt.And here I had been proudly telling everyone about this tidbit of cultural understanding.